“Everything is ceremony in the wild garden of childhood.”

Winter dropped by last night to remind us not to get giddy about spring. It will have to be patient, to wait its turn. I saw daffodil buds yesterday in my garden. They are still all green but soon enough they’ll flower. I figure winter is beginning to feel rushed.

The swamp around now would still have ice as the water wasn’t very deep. The remaining ice was mostly in the back on the shaded channels which ran between trees and what we called islands. We’d go as far back as we could. In some places we’d walk on the ice and stoop under the trees while in other places we’d have to go on all fours. We explored in the summer too but then we risked getting wet as we had to jump from island to island.

When I was a kid, we were explorers. We walked or rode our bikes all over town. We had favorite places like the field where the two horses grazed, the tracks which both ended and kept going, the zoo, and the dairy farm. I never got tired of trying the catch the horses, but I’m glad I didn’t. I watched the cows.

Growing up when I did was a gift beyond measure. It meant summers of riding my bike, walking all over town or sleeping outside. We were never afraid. Our mothers had taught us to refuse anything a stranger offered so they figured we were safe enough. They were right. I don’t even remember any strangers.

The first time I went to the movie theater at night was an event. I was 10. The movie was a fund-raiser for my girl scout troop. I remember walking around wearing my uniform and feeling important. My parents bought tickets as did most of the other parents. I don’t even remember what the movie was. I just remember feeling older as if I’d just passed a milestone.

Today is cold, 34˚. It is a sunny day which belies the cold. Tonight the low will be 17˚.

6 Comments on ““Everything is ceremony in the wild garden of childhood.””

Hi Kat,
It was really cold last night when I went out to knitting. The wind didn’t help. Today I hung around inside except for going out with the dogs. It was cold, too, but no wind.

I noticed the lonely little crocus by the front steps remained loosely furled until well after noon. The heat of the sun baking the cement stairs convinced it to open up. When I went out at 4 PM, it was furled up again. Can’t say I blame it. There is also one green daffodil bud in the side yard and lots of day lilies poking up in the back yard. Most of the grass seed I threw down in November is sprouting, too.
So, Winter, here’s your hat what’s your hurry? 🙂

Hi Caryn,
I was cold when I took Gracie out late in the afternoon. She is having a problem with one back leg, and it slides on her. It makes the steps scary to her as she is afraid her leg will slide, and she’ll fall. I walk in front of her down the steps, and she feels reassured and goes down into the yard. I got cold.

Mostly, like you, I hung around at home.

Tonight is supposed to be brutally cold with single digits in some places and snow flurries. Tomorrow is the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Yarmouth. Too cold for me.

When I was in the fifth grade I rode my bike with my friend all over North Dallas. In those days we lived at the edge of suburban development and within a block there were horse and cattle farms. In the other direction there were huge lots with high walls and gates separating the street from the mansions. These were the homes of the new wealthy where the streets where narrow and have no sidewalks. Very wealthy people want the illusion that they are living in the country. I can’t remember when I first went to the movies at night. I remember going with my parents when I was a kid. I remember the whole family watching the movie version of “South Pacific.” Some enchanted evening. 🙂

This morning was chilly with the low in the lower 40s and the high in the mid 60s. The skies were clear with a southerly wind.

Drive-in movie theaters are an endangered species because of rising land values and digital movie projectors are expensive. The days of 35mm movie film reels are long gone. I was never a fan of drive-ins because I didn’t like looking at the film through my windshield and listening through that crummy speaker was horrible. The exception was sitting in the backseat with a cute girl and enjoy steaming up the windows. 🙂